Final Word from Monday, September 23, 2019

It sounds dramatic when Nora Fridrichová declares on 168 hodin that halting the proceedings against Andrej Babiš if Supreme State Prosecutor Pavel Zeman indicted him would be a "step that is absolutely unique in democratic countries, maybe with the sole exception of Slovakia during the era of Vladimír Mečiar." It is a clever journalist device for linking Miloš Zeman to the discredited Mečiar, but a better "exception" to this "absolutely unique" step might be in the Land of the Free. On Sept. 8, 1974, U.S. Pres. Gerald R. Ford granted a "full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States" while in office. Tricky Dick would not go to trial or to prison. There is a big difference, of course. Ford granted the pardon one month after Nixon had resigned, and Nixon accepted it. Tricky Andy is still in office and has vowed not to accept the pardon. What would the media reaction be if Zeman had said he would only do it if Babiš resigned first? [ Czech Republic abolition abrogation United States of America Czech TV Television ]